Conventional lug pins are conventionally attached such as by welding to chains for use on chainway conveyor systems in various applications, for example, in wood processing facilities such as sawmills. Typically a metal lug pin is welded onto the chain and which protrudes upwardly. Direct contact between materials being conveyed on a chainway conveyor which are sensitive to marking or damage from metal and the metal parts of that conveyor system, such as metal lug pins or the chain, can cause marking or damage to such materials. Consequently a collar made of, for example, Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (“UHMW”), may be rotatably mounted onto the upstanding lug pin so as to be free to rotate about the lug pin. However, in the prior art, the top of the lug pin is exposed in or from the top of the collar. The collar is ordinarily removably secured onto the top of the lug pin by means of a clip, or secured by welding a retaining washer onto the top of the lug pin.
It is important that the collar be allowed to rotate about the lug pin in the manner of a roller so that the elongate workpiece materials, such as boards, being conveyed on the chains by being pushed along by contact with, so as to rest against the lug pins, are free to be translated laterally relative to the direction of flow along the chains. This may be required, for example, where boards need to be urged against a fence before trimming, etc. Because the top of the lug pin is exposed, however, dirt, sawdust and other detritus collect in the annular space between the lug pin and the collar. The resultant accumulation of foreign particles between the lug pin and the collar can cause the rotation of the collar around the lug pin to bind or seize thereby interfering with or preventing the proper functioning of the chainway conveyor.